The cybersecurity landscape has evolved more quickly in the last two years than in the previous two decades. While the world is increasingly distracted by the next wave of futuristic risks such as AI superintelligence quantum breakthroughs and deepfake automation the threats causing the most real-world damage right now come from failures in fundamentals. Token hijacking SaaS misconfiguration’s weak identity controls supply chain phishing and large-scale misinformation campaigns are quietly reshaping the attack surface of modern organizations.
Telegram vs Signal and the Trust Gap
Signal continues to hold its place as the most transparent messaging platform offering full open-source code availability for both server and client. Telegram does not meet that standard. Its client is partially open source while the server backend remains closed and controlled. Investigations this year revealed that Telegram’s overall network infrastructure is influenced by a Russian individual operating out of the Caribbean raising questions around data privacy and international governance.
Despite these concerns Telegram has become the central marketplace for cybercriminals. Historically joining an elite hacking community required reputation a vetting process and often financial bonding. Now one Telegram link bypasses all of that. Criminal marketplaces ransomware negotiation channels and recruitment hubs operate openly on the platform.
Credential Theft at Unprecedented Scale
Nearly two billion credentials were stolen in the first half of 2025 alone. The UnitedHealth breach exposed the financial health and personal information of more than one hundred ten million Americans. The breach started with compromised Citrix access and the system did not even have multi factor authentication.
The escalation is in token theft. Authentication tokens issued after successful MFA are being phished leaked and silently harvested. Once attackers get hold of these tokens they can bypass MFA entirely and gain access to critical applications and services.
SaaS Providers and the Hidden Systemic Risk
JPMorgan Chase’s CISO recently highlighted the growing risk created by over reliance on SaaS platforms. Many SaaS vendors still use static JSON tokens unrotated keys and APIs exposed with insecure default configurations. Essential security features such as detailed logging or advanced auditing require premium licensing.
Security should not depend on how much an organisation can pay.
Token Exposure and the SalesLoft Drift Incident
A major sales platform left customer access tokens inside an unsecured Amazon S3 bucket. Attackers found those tokens and gained access to hundreds of customer environments. No
malware no lateral movement no privilege escalation. Just negligence.
Poor Password Hygiene in AI Driven Platforms
Researchers uncovered weak password practices at an AI hiring platform exposing millions of user profiles. AI does not fix weak fundamentals. Poor configuration leads directly to compromise.
Authorization Sprawl and OAuth Abuse
Single sign on provides convenience but centralizes risk. Stolen OAuth tokens now provide wide access across multiple systems. This shift represents one of the biggest silent risks of 2025.
NPM Supply Chain Attack and Developer Phishing
An NPM phishing campaign spoofed official communications and convinced maintainers to refresh two factor authentication. Attackers collected credentials and MFA codes then pushed malicious updates into legitimate packages which cascaded globally.
DDoS Extortion Targeting Unregulated Industries
Gaming platforms gambling services and especially Chinese gambling networks remain prime DDoS targets. They handle large monetary flow operate with minimal regulation and cannot tolerate downtime. Attackers leverage this for extortion.
Agentic Programming and AI Manipulation
Agentic programming tools are increasing in popularity. These systems can act autonomously raising concerns about device access and privacy. Meanwhile misinformation campaigns driven by Moscow-based networks flood search engines crawlers and training datasets poisoning AI outputs.
Global Need for Stronger Authentication and Better Cybercrime Enforcement
There must be a global shift toward phishing resistant authentication such as FIDO2 passkeys and hardware keys. Weak authentication is now a national security issue. Governments must invest in specialised cybercrime units with deep expertise in investigation and digital forensics.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity challenges are not futuristic they are present. Token theft SaaS insecurity supply chain poisoning misinformation and unregulated financial ecosystems represent immediate threats.
The solutions exist what is missing is urgency.
